New Michael Jackson Documentary About Alleged Child Sex Abuse to Debut at Sundance

The Sundance Film Festival has announced that a new, two-part Michael Jackson documentary titled Leaving Neverland will have its world premiere at this year’s festival. Directed and produced by Dan Reed (The Paedophile Hunter, Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks) the series follows two men (now in their thirties) who allege they were sexually abused in the 1990s by Jackson, starting at the ages of 7 and 10.

The men in the film are James Safechuck and Wade Robson. Safechuck says his experiences with Jackson began at 10; Robson says his began at age 7. Wade Robson has sued the Michael Jackson Estate multiple times; both suits have been dismissed.

Following the Sundance premiere, Leaving Neverland will air on HBO and the UK’s Channel 4, which both co-produced the film. The television premiere is set for the spring.

The two documentary episodes will total 233 minutes and premiere on January 25 at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, followed by a Q&A session.

In 2005, Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges following a trial.

Jackson’s estate responded to the announcement of the film in a statement sent to Pitchfork:

This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson. Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them. Safechuck and Robson, the latter a self-proclaimed “master of deception,” filed lawsuits against Michael’s Estate, asking for millions of dollars. Both lawsuits were dismissed. This so called “documentary” is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations. It’s baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.

This article was originally published on Wednesday, January 9 at 5:08 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on Thursday, January 10 at 1:49 p.m. Eastern.